Knitting machine needle holder

ABSTRACT

A knitting machine needle assembly, and elements thereof, with first and second needle clamping members, one of said members being longitudinally grooved to accept a multiplicity of needles and the other of said members carrying a transverse protuberance to secure needles carried in the grooves of the other against movement out of the bight of the members, each of the needles including a groove of a shape to cooperate with said protuberance.

Ilnited States Patent [191 Russo 1 Jul 16,1974

[76] Inventor: Carmine M. Russo, 177 Forest Ave.,

Paramus, NJ. 07110 [22] Filed: Feb. 2, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 329,098

[52] U.S. Cl. 66/86 R, 66/114 [51] Int. Cl...... D04b 15/00, D04b 35/00 [58] Field of Search 66/86 R, l 14 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,480,231 8/1949 Eshleman 66/86 R 2,749,729 6/1956 Noe 66/86 R 2,902,847 9/1959 Kohl .66/114 3,046,765 7/1962 Torrence 66/86 R 3,253,428 5/1966 Pace... 66/86 R 3,584,480 6/1971 Zwingenberger 66/114 3,733,857 5/1973 Kohl 66/86 R FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 606,837 6/1926 France 66/114 1,210,485 10/1970 GreatBritain 66/114 Primary Examiner-W. C. Reynolds Assistant ExaminerAndrew M. Falik [5 7] ABSTRACT A knitting machine needle assembly, and elements thereof, with first and second needle clamping members, one of said members being longitudinally grooved to accept a multiplicity of needles and the other of said members carrying a transverse protuberance to secure needles carried in the grooves of the other against movement out of the bight of the members, each of the needles including a groove of a shape to cooperate with said protuberance.

2 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJULI 81974 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention provides a novel knitting machine needle assembly, and novel elements thereof, to make possible easy replacement of one or more defective knitting needles. The invention also makes possible such assemblies characterized by simplicity, sturdiness, lightness, and ease of operation.

The invention contemplates first and second needle clamping members, one of said members being longitudinally grooved to accept a multiplicity of needles and the other of said members carrying a transverse protuberance to secure needles carried in the grooves of the other against movement out of the bight of the members, each of the needles including a groove of shape to cooperate with said protuberance.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to knitting machine'needle assemblies and novel elements thereof.

It is well known in the prior art of knitting to provide needle assemblies in which a needle block carries a multiplicity of knitting needles extending therefrom in generally parallel relation.

Typically the knitting needles have been held in a lead needle block, the lead metal having been cast and cooled therearound to define the needle block and hold the knitting needles in it. That approach has the disadvantage that if a single knitting needle breaks or is otherwise rendered inoperable, the entire knitting needle block must be melted down in order to replace the defective knitting needle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONOF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is an exploded isometric view of a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of said embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view of said embodiment, taken at 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partial plan view, partially broken away, of a modified embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view taken at 5-5 of FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT There is shown in FIG. I needle'supporting gripping member injection molded from polycarbonate plastic material. Member 10 includes, extending from one end thereof, a multiplicity of parallel blind needle carrying grooves 12 which carry a corresponding multiplicity of offset Raschel needles 14, each of which carries in its upper surface a symmetrical semicircular groove 16 in all of which grooves is seated transverse protuberance 18 of needle clamping gripping member 20. Member 20 too is injection molded from polycarbonate plastic material.

Extending through clamping member 20 are a pair of holes 22 through which extend screws 24 to threadedly engage support member 10 to urge the members 10 and 20 together to secure therebetween the needles 14. Counterbored hole 26 is adapted to accept a fastener to hold the assembly on a knitting machine, and relieved portion 28 of member 20 to clear said fastener.

In operation, needles 14 are held securely against support member 10 by clamp member 20. The transverse protuberance 18, cooperating with grooves 16, gives added clamping against longitudinal forces tending to move the needles longitudinally of the grooves 16; the grooves 12 are of depth to extend about halfway up the needles thickness, while'the grooves 16 are of depth to allow the protuberance to extend about halfway down the needles thickness, the transverse leg 30 of member 20 keeping the member 20 generally level, and providing a fulcrum with which screws 24 function to provide good leverage to impose downward force through protuberance 18. The needles are thus held against any movement in their respective needle grooves during use, but a single needle can easily be replaced by loosening the screws 24.

In the modification shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, a U- shaped steel insert 32 is molded into a support or bottom gripping member molded of plastic, to provide added support and strength beneath needle grooves 112. In addition the spaced legs of the U provide support at the outer sides of the outside needle grooves 112. Holes 34 and opening 36 permit plastic to flow through insert 32 during molding, to produce a strong, unitary construction.

Other embodiments within the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

I. A knitting machine needle assembly comprising:

a first needle clamping member,

a second needle clamping member, and

means cooperating with said first needle clamping member and said second needle clamping member for urging said clamping members toward each other,

one of said clamping members including a multiplicity of parallel blind needle grooves, and

the other of said clamping members including a transversely extending protuberance, said protuberance being positioned across said blind needle grooves intermediate the length of said blind needle grooves,

said clamping members being plastic,

which includes, molded into said plastic and across said needle grooves in said needle clamping member which includes said grooves, a metal reinforcing member, said member including openings through which said plastic extends.

2. The knitting machine needle assembly of claim 1 in which said metal reinforcing member is U-shaped, with spaced legs of the U extending alongside outside ones of said needle grooves. 

1. A knitting machine needle assembly comprising: a first needle clamping member, a second needle clamping member, and means cooperating with said first needle clamping member and said second needle clamping member for urging said clamping members toward each other, one of said clamping members including a multiplicity of parallel blind needle grooves, and the other of said clamping members including a transversely extending protuberance, said protuberance being positioned across said blind needle grooves intermediate the length of said blind needle grooves, said clamping members being plastic, which includes, molded into said plastic and across said needle grooves in said needle clamping member which includes said grooves, a metal reinforcing member, said member including openings through which said plastic extends.
 2. The knitting machine needle assembly of claim 1 in which said metal reinforcing member is U-shaped, with spaced legs of the U extending alongside outside ones of said needle grooves. 